As a part of its big push to become profitable again, Nissan is prioritizing hybrids. Its e-Power plug-in system, which has been for sale in markets outside of the U.S. for years now, is finally slated to arrive in 2027. In the meantime, though, the company didn’t want its most popular model, the Rogue crossover, to go without a plug-in hybrid powertrain option for a full model year.
So as a stopgap, Nissan revealed the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid back in November. This car doesn’t use the new e-Power drivetrain because it’s not a Nissan at all—it’s a Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV that’s had its Mitsubishi badges replaced with Nissan badges. Lazy? Maybe, but it’s also exactly the type of powertrain Nissan needs to bolster its lineup in the United States right now.
Nissan revealed today that the rebadged Outlander will cost $47,485, including a $1,495 destination charge. As it turns out, that’s more than $5,000 more than the actual Outlander PHEV it’s based on. The reason for the huge delta in price? It’s all in the details—specifically, the trim details.
Here’s The Full Breakdown
To start, I think it’s best not to think of the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid as a Rogue, because they really are different cars. The normal Rogue has a totally unique body and interior, and starts at $30,585. The Plug-In is a full $16,900 more expensive, but it also has 38 miles of all-electric range from its 20 kWh battery pack, more horsepower, way more torque, and an extra row of seats in the trunk. The only thing the two Rogues really share is a name and some badges.
Comparing the Rogue Plug-In to the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV makes a lot more sense, since they’re essentially the same cars, both in terms of styling and mechanically. Both use the same 2.4-liter naturally aspirated four-cylinder under the hood, the same two electric motors, and have the same battery capacity. The two cars are both rated at 248 horsepower and 332 pound-feet of torque, connected to the same continuously variable automatic transmission.
For big equipment, the two cars are pretty similar, too. Both get a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a nine-inch infotainment touchscreen, complete with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
Yet, the Rogue is priced a full $5,340 more than the 2025 Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV, which starts at $42,145 including destination. What gives? Rather than just assume Nissan is trying to scam a few extra thousand dollars from unsuspecting buyers who don’t realize Mitsubishi still sells cars in America, I asked a representative for the company what was up. The price difference comes down to all of the standard stuff you get in the base Rogue Plug-In that doesn’t come standard on the cheapest Outlander PHEV. From the Nissan rep:
The difference in starting MSRP reflects trim and equipment strategy. Nissan positions Rogue Plug‑in Hybrid to start at a higher standard equipment level (SL grade), while Mitsubishi offers Outlander Plug‑in Hybrid across a broader range of trims, including lower-entry variants (ES grade – comparable to a Nissan S base grade). When the vehicles are compared at similar equipment levels(Nissan SL to Mitsubishi SEL), Rogue Plug-in Hybrid and Outlander Plug-in Hybrid are closely aligned in pricing, performance, and overall value.
So basically, the low-range Nissan comes with much of the same equipment as the mid-range Mitsubishi. It’s mostly small stuff that you probably wouldn’t even think about unless you’re driving the car, like a power-adjustable driver’s seat, heated front seats, keyless entry, a leather steering wheel, a wireless phone charger, three-zone climate control, and LED fog lights. The base Nissan, the SL, has all of that stuff, while the base Mitsubishi has none of it. That explains the $5,000 difference.
You Can Spend Even More If You Want
In addition to the SL trim, Nissan is offering a “Premium” trim for the Rogue Plug-In Hybrid, too. With destination included, it starts at an eye-watering $51,485. For the extra four grand, you get a 10-inch head-up display installed into the dash, along with a Bose nine-speaker audio system, leather trim, heated rear seats, and a power panoramic sunroof.
Dropping over fifty grand for what amounts to a rebadge Mitsubishi feels like something that should never happen, but that’s just how expensive cars are these days. According to Cox Automotive, the average transaction price for a new car last month was $49,191 (which is actually lower than last month, but still insane). So to see a plug-in hybrid Nissan hover around that price shouldn’t actually be all that surprising.
I’m not one to complain about the lack of a few niceties, so if it were my money, I’d buy the cheapest version of the Mitsubishi I could find. Oh, who am I kidding? If it were really my money, I’d buy 10 different rusty Miatas off of Facebook Marketplace to see if I can part them out to create one good Miata.
Top images: Nissan; Mitsubishi
I’m sorry, but while I realize that 11 years is a long time and there has been a lot of inflationary water under the bridge, I am NOT paying the same price for a loaded one of these things as MSRP on the reasonably well-equipped ’16 326hp BMW M235i (premium pkg, nav, stereo upgrade, some other stuff, but no driver assist nonsense) that I bought in 2015. For a generic hybrid CUV-thing from a *decidedly* not in any way premium brand.
No, just no to all of it. We so live in the worst timeline.
BTW, this weeks rental is a Hybrid Kia Sportage. It is unoffensively underwhelming. 40+mpg so far, but all the driving enjoyment of sitting at home on the couch. I can’t imagine these things are any different.
While I agree that cars are too expensive these days, comparing this with a German compact sports car 10 years ago as apples-to-apples is, well, bananas
Generic as fuck boring non-premium CUVs should not cost this much is the bottom line. The 2-series is just not that much more expensive today than it was back then. An M240i is only a few grand more comparably equipped.
This is a ludicrous price premium to save a little gas.
On top of being more expensive the Nissan also has a worse warranty. Usually I’m on the side of the consumer but if you can’t be bothered to do basic research and figure that out there’s just no hope for you….
But can I take it to a Mitsubishi dealer and a Nissan dealer for service?
Really, you’re paying the premium for that Nissan badge. The price of prestige, baby.
Only one of these will give you a place in the exclusive Big Altima Energy club!
Priceless, that.
I feel like EVERY Nissan should just be sold as a crappy used car.
why would anyone buy this instead of a Rav4 plugin?
Two reasons I considered it briefly: the first is the 3rd row. I don’t need it for people much, but my lab prefers laying in a seat and I prefer having her buckled in with a Kurgo harness.
The second is the price on lightly used ones – these things (well, the Mitsu version) can be had in the mid-20s with reasonable mileage while the RAV4 primes are all over 30. But in the end, the dismal hybrid gas mileage and the suspect reliability on the PHEV system means I’m left wishing Toyota had a slightly larger PHEV available.
Availability. I don’t think plug-in RAVs even touch the lot before they’re sold, whereas my closest Mitsu dealer has a dozen PHEV Outlanders on the ground and 5 of them with an MSRP over the Rogue PHEV’s MSRP. I imagine the Nissan will follow the Mitsu with heavier discounts compared to the Toyota.
Because Toyota isn’t making enough of them. Whether that’s by design or due to logistical challenges, Toyota hasn’t been producing enough of its SUVs, especially hybrid ones, to sate demand. It means buyers of those vehicles can expect long waits and/or markups to get them. (I was lucky to get a ’26 Land Cruiser for under MSRP late last year). And even as the PHEV powertrain expands to more trims with the ’26 redesign, that’s likely to continue being the case.
Meanwhile, the Rogue and Outlander PHEV will likely be plentiful enough to incur reasonable discounts.
It’s artificial scarcity. When combined with Toyota’s absurd allocation system it’s a money printing machine for dealerships. Toyota is happy, their dealerships are happy, line go UP, and the consumer can get absolutely fucked.
it’s not artificial scarcity. They just only have so many factories that can make the Primes, and they went head first into 1:6:90. They assumed they’d sell > 10X as many hybrids as PHEVs, and totally underestimated the demand for them
Must have been the same guy who determined Ford would sell 2/3 Mavericks with the bigger gas engine and only 1/3 would be Hybrids.
Speaking of which, why isn’t there a Bronco Sport Hybrid? There’s obvious demand for hybrid SUVs, there are hybrid versions of both the recently discontinued Escape and the Maverick (with and without AWD), and it could potentially take a bite out of RAV4 and CR-V sales.
Seems like a no-brainer, to me. Ford is normally fantastic at anticipating the sorts of cars people want to buy and even at creating whole segments, but that one has me scratching my head.
Right. Dealers cannot order cars and must wait for allocations of specific models and units. They can sometimes request things, but there’s no guarantee they’ll get them.
Toyota seems especially constrained on the segments it has mostly or entirely to itself.
Oh, and if you live in one of the regions where Toyota still has a distributor as an intermediary between it and the dealerships…that’s another opportunity to be fleeced, because the distributors pack the cars with additional content, which gets added to the build sheet and window sticker and which therefore cannot be removed.
I’m in Oklahoma, so we’re beholden to Gulf States Toyota. GST put over $3K worth of extras on my Land Cruiser, including A/T tires (but not the spare), a vehicle protection package, and illuminated door sills.
Appropos of nothing, the next most annoying element after the purchase experience is the cult-like ownership base for the Toyota trucks. These folks as bad as Tesla stans. The Land Cruiser and the other Toyota trucks all have some real shortcomings (some of which I’ve managed to rectify, like not having acoustic glass on the front doors), but if you bring them up, people admonish you and tell you you’re a crybaby and to go back to whatever you’d been driving before.
Because you can actually get one? And I imagine in the real world MSRP on these is rather a fantasy, unlike anything Toyota with a battery pack.
The Toyota Tax is real.
It’s worse than the Porsche Tax in many ways. At least if you pay the Porsche Tax, you end up with a Porsche, not yet another boring transportation module.
Just….buy a full EV at that price.
or an EV and a beater Civic for that price…
But I can’t buy an EV! What if I have to tow 12,000 pounds 700 miles in subzero temperatures?!?!
Ok but will the Rogue Plug-in Hybrid help us get a new Evo?
Only if Nissan gets to brand it as a Sentra SE-R.